attenir

Borrowed from Latin attinere (with adaptaion in conjugation to tenir), but modern uses are likely back-formations from the more current adjective attenant).

• IPA^(key): /at.niʁ/

• Audio:

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attenir

1. (archaic, inanimate, intransitive) to border; be next to; abut
   • 1956, Bernard Tourville & Evelyn Colomb (translators), Arthur Conan Doyle (author), “La Ligue des Rouquins”; original English: Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Red-headed League” (short story), in The Strand Magazine, 1891 August:

     En me promenant dans le coin, je constatai que la banque de la City et de la Banlieue attenait à la maison de Jabez Wilson.

     I walked round the corner, saw the City and Suburban Bank abutted on our friend's premises.

• The object is introduced by the preposition à.

This is a verb in a group of -ir verbs. All verbs ending in -tenir, such as contenir and détenir, are conjugated this way. Such verbs are the only verbs whose the past historic and subjunctive imperfect endings do not start in one of these thematic vowels (-a-, -i-, -u-).

• “attenir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

• entrait, étirant, inertât, itérant, nitrate, rentait, tartine